vocals from Zenaide Castellano Pucci , Valerie Huang and Millie Fitzgerald . The second half started with some ‘ smooth ’ jazz from guitarist Yiannis Scotiniadis , followed by alto sax players Keira Bassett and Rhea Nelson . The concert concluded with more vocals from Millie and Valerie and the cool tenor sax of Will Gough-Cooper . The unique opportunity for the students to play with professional musicians made for a very special evening of music and the whole concert was filmed , making a perfect ‘ jazz souvenir ’ for the seven Upper Sixth pupils who took part .
SEVENOAKS SWINGS
Sevenoaks Swings is our annual Eastertime celebration of all things ‘ jazzy ’ and ‘ swingy ’. This year the concert featured a special guest star , legendary virtuoso jazz trumpet player Mike Lovatt . Mike was in school during the day and hosted workshops with some of our best brass and jazz players . In the concert he performed two solo sets and then joined the school Big Band for the finale .
The concert opened with the Big Band playing Tommy Dorsey ’ s classic ‘ Opus One ’. A sparkling first set from the band continued with a Beatles classic , ‘ And I Love Her ’, which featured Ethan Phillipson on alto sax , and finally a reworking of the Dolly Parton song ‘ 9 to 5 ’, featuring Valerie Huang . Next came the Swings Singers directed by Ms Day and their wonderful rendition of ‘ Fly Me to the Moon ’. This was followed by the sax quartet playing a very complex selection of Paul Whiteman tunes , the Rollins Ensemble with its interpretations of ‘ Take the A Train ’ and ‘ Blue Bossa ’, and then the totally jazztastic and ever-enthusiastic jazz band concluded the first half .
The second half of the concert roared into life with the wind band , directed by Mr Palmer . A dynamic set of symphonic wind band music ended with a tribute to Queen that included ‘ We Are the Champions ’ and ‘ Bohemian Rhapsody ’. Next up was the amazing saxophone megaband – almost certainly the biggest school saxophone ensemble in the country ! A fabulous sound , over 30 sax players of all ages and standards joined together to perform the Latin jazz standard ‘ Tequila ’.
After an outstanding set from Mike Lovatt , the school Big Band took to the stage to end the concert . A traditional melody scored for Big Band , some big band funk and an outstanding vocal from Millie Fitzgerald ended the set . For the grand finale the school Big Band was joined by Mike Lovatt for a performance of the theme from Rocky . Originally written for the American trumpet player Maynard Ferguson , the solo part for this piece goes so high very few players will take it on . Cheered on by an appreciative audience , Mike showed why he is one of the most in-demand trumpet players in the country ; the final notes were so high and so perfect that it was a fantastic end to the concert . A very memorable evening of jazz !
Nick Beston , Head of Jazz
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